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Nearly 14 years after the first thread, she's still going strong. Paint has faded a bit, and she wears a few scratches, but still working!

Curious why I was going through an ice cream pail full of bird seed each day.

Yesterday made some good fun with the niece and nephew, and Rylee too.

Today, some fun on the 953 with my niece again. The two link chains made a huge difference once I stuck ‘em on!

You have to keep the general consumers happy. A 17 horse engine is clearly far superior to a 16 horse engine in the eyes of someone who is shopping for a tractor and does not actually have the full knowledge of what they are shopping for. A twin engine is probably Superior in most people's minds to a single engine because the twin is twice what a single could ever possibly hope to be. Marketing aside, it could have also been a condition of availability. Wheel Horse has been well known to literally create a model to sell off old inventory of parts so nothing would surprise me there. I don't think we will ever know. Maybe? Maybe they wanted 2000 engines. Maybe? Maybe they could only get 1,000 singles so they decided to buy 1,000 twins and upmarket them a hair. Maybe? They were doing nothing more or less than trying to keep up with the joneses, so to speak, and go to twins because that's what the general consensus in the industry was leading up to.

Yeah, but can you use those with non-detergent oils? Steve

Tim, when you get her back on wheels, we will get serious! I can't speak for everyone, but if we were all standing in my shop- there would be far more joking around and off the wall comments... I enjoy the "drift"!

Torque has become a major advertising gimmick in recent times. Advertising big numbers apparently sells trucks and other equipment and folks don't understand how it applies to their usage. Horsepower is the measure of work that an engine can do. A higher torque number compared to an engine with equal horsepower only means that it is turning slower with higher internal pressures. This subject always degenerates into a contest that proves nothing.

We try to get out every Sunday during the season. Usually my dad, uncle, 2 cousins and all the youngsters. Today was just me and the little guy. The old jiffy model 30 was a blessing, about 12” of ice. Had 3 flags, hit and run. Cut a hole to jig in and got a nice 3lb bass! A couple shots from last week with the youngsters. That day it was -4 not one complaint Todaylast week my cousin with a nice bass last week

Looks like you need to take a look see. Dah!!! No videos, no pictures...no idea what happened. Thoughts...you ask?? Give me a break...where is my Carnac picture??

When the top bushing is worn and you have a lot of slop, the engine will run lean because it is pulling air in alongside the shaft. Lean burn won't make smoke, but it will make the engine hotter. The hole at the bottom where the shaft sits does not have to be air tight because there is nowhere to pull air from. So, when I have a sloppy bottom hole (hold the comments), I make a shim from shim-stock just thick enough to keep the shaft centered. It won't come out because the butterfly plate will keep it in place. Also I have found that throttle shafts are pretty easy to find. 50% of used carbs that you find for sale at shows and on eBay have decent shafts.

First off, as far as sound, I couldn't care less. At 73, the quieter the better. I have a C160 with Ark 550 loader and backhoe. I don't think the hoe weights less than 400lbs. Before the hoe was installed I tried to pick it up with the bucket and couldn't move it. So I've got about all the traction I can handle. Yet when scooping up a load of stones, ground, etc, it still wants to spin the wheels if I'm not careful. Don't know what I'd do with any more torque....

What Fragrance do you prefer? Gain seems to be the brand that lasts the longest!

Where else can we have this much fun with have it moved. I just remembered where " EB's Colosses thread " EB with a little help from us can keep it running for a nother 5 or 6 years and we won't have to help much.

Some fab and resewing required to fit cab cloth to metal heat houser. The origonal set up was with a SS blower. I changed to a 54" plow blade several years ago. Here you can see ; vented belt guard motion control foot pedal pnuematic cylinder for foot pedal blade angle control lever inside of heat houser I recently added a scoop over the louvered hood to capture that heat and direct it into the cab. I can feel some air coming in but it is not really hot enough to warm the cab. Because of the location, I do feel it will help to prevent the windshield from fogging. Some of the other mods can be seen here; seat and fender pan raised 2" Foot rests moved forward 2" filler tires wheel weights rear weights front weight and frame stabalizer 2 link Vee Bar chains on rear 2 link chains on front cab head lights cab blinking clearance lights cab mounted mirrors

Looks like great fun! Lucky kids! BTW… @Achto I thought this was all you Wisconsin tough guys needed…?

One of these and a Mister Heater and you can fish in 70 degree temps. Or if you really want to go all out.

The old Craftsman ratchets were great, I remember using Dad's and Grandpa's as that is all they would buy when I was younger. When I quit driving and went back to turning wrenches about 4 years ago, I started buying more tools, as I didn't want to take all the tools from home to work and not have what I needed to fix things at home. Naturally I went with Craftsman, remembering the quality tools my Dad and Grandpa used for years. I was NOT impressed with them at all, the quality has completely tanked since moving their production overseas. The Chinese made Craftsman wrenches aren't bad, though they are considerably lighter weight than their older USA made counterparts, but the ratchets are complete garbage. I bought one in each size (1/4, 3/8, and 1/2) as well as a long flex head 1/2...all 4 of them were loose and sloppy, the 1/4 would drop a socket the minute you let go of it, and I stripped the teeth out of the flex head the second time I used it. All four of them are somewhere deep in the back of the barn in the scrap pile if anyone wants to come and get them LOL. If you want quality I hate to say it but Snap-On is the way to go. That being said for average use I have been super impressed with the Pittsburgh Pro and Icon lines from Harbor Freight. Most of my tools at work come from the Snap-On dealer, but I buy cheaper stuff to carry on my welding/service truck. Doesn't hurt as badly when you lose a Harbor Freight socket out in the middle of a wheat field during harvest as it would if you lost a Snap-On socket. All I carry on the truck ratchet wise are the Pittsburgh Pro, with the exception of one long handle flex head 1/2" Icon. They have a fine tooth count head, and have held up amazingly well considering the fact that they get used in the dustiest and dirtiest of conditions, and then get thrown into a box on the back of a flatbed truck that is just as dusty and dirty as the job they just completed. The ONLY complaint I have with them is the selector switch is backwards from my Snap-On ratchets, or any other ratchet I have used for that matter. These are the ones I am referring to

I remembered today that I received a set of tire chains with “Chloe” the 953. I’d been meaning to get them on and with a large lack of traction today, I pulled it into the shop. The box I thought they were in was indeed just a set of cross chains. I found the set nearby and realized they had been customized. They were 4 link chains with no cross bars and the loose box of cross pieces was used to make ‘em into 2 links! There is a large gap at the end where they come together and I intend to complete the cross links throughout.

It's this one: That's too blame for the excess food consumption. Note how it's just sitting right IN the food with no regard for it's Barrelmates. Clearly. Birdimus hugus appetitus.

A quote from Briggs as to why they choose to switch to displaying the torque of an engine instead of the HP. "While horsepower has been traditionally used for these applications to measure engine power, torque values are not new for engines. Gross Torque is the immediate twisting force required to turn a blade or pump at a given moment. Thus, torque is the way to measure the rotational force a machine can produce." While I agree that HP is important to us plus lets face it, it is the term we grew up with and are most familiar with. I kind of compare it to living in the US and measuring with the metric system. For some reason it's just not natural to most of us. So let me give one example of the difference that torque makes. A Cummins 350 is rated at 350HP at 1800RPMs and a torque rating of 1175ftlbs of torque at 1300RPMs. A Dodge 5.7 Hemi is rated at 395HP at 5600RPMs and a torque rating of 400ftlbs of torque at 4000RPMs Given these HP facts one might want to choose the 5.7 Hemi. More horse power!!! Which would be a good choice depending on what you want to do with it. If I was putting it in a hot rod car, I'm all for the 5.7. But if you were putting it in a semi truck or a farm tractor, which one would you choose??? The higher torque rating is more capable of doing the heavy work. A Car & Driver article that explains torque and horse power. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a15347872/horsepower-vs-torque-whats-the-difference/

Love this beast. Never see my woman if she ever got one. You'd have to pry her off the seat wit' a crowbar.

...@sgtsampay I have no problem with bigger engines and more power. I have a 520 strictly for a 2 stage blower. That or a 60" deck is the only reason I would want anything bigger than a single 16.....

Yep. Like a business model almost. That and clearing inventory by creating new models. Think 1045 or 2500 Special. There are many others. Somewhere a company decided to go with a twin, and suddenly everyone wanted them. Not to mention I'll bet a twin was very close to the expense of a K341/ Magnum 16. So far as manufacturing is concerned, more bling for the buck.

Hhhmmm… really…? I blew the dust off all the old threads… don’t recall seeing a reveal thread from Curdland since… Uhm… well since Colossus was a pup… And that was many many moons ago…

Well yeah, who else?

I don't know about me but that's okay as long as Trina can finish it.

Agreed 100 percent! So far as favorite runners and including working on them- flathead Kohlers rule! Me personally, Vanguard V twin horizontals are a distant second place. Great power and simple to work on. Onans run so nice. The have a purr like a mini diesel- almost hypnotic... But working on them for even minor fixes is a pain. 3rd place for me, and not even a close one. Got rid of all my Teccys. I hear some folks love them. I hear skunks make good pets too, but I'll leave that to the folks with experience. I can enjoy both from a safe distance... Got an opposed Kohler twin in a box that I'll tackle eventually. List subject to change during the course of that one.

Sure beats tippin' one of these on it's side!

I put some straight 90w in my 59 JD that my dad bought in the 70's it don't go bad. I had 2 1/2 gallons in a 5 gallon metal bucket so you know that had to be old.

You gets real mayonnaise warmed up in the sun and you'll end up givin' that Horse that Sam Vanilla poisoning.

No...Thin it down with diesel it gets a little stiff.

Yah ok ....28 pages and we still ain't got a workin tractor.... quit talkin about salad dressing and GITERDONE!

Knock it off you ‘s… you seen the price of cheese curds lately??? @WHX?? and @Achto gonna go broke if you keep runnin’ up demand…

You mean, when you have the unrealistic expectation of seeing zero snow accumulation 24/7 on all of your installations blacktop surfaces? Then yes, this is pretty much normal. These back to back little nuisance dustings eat that salt up crazy fast. Already more coming, that dome and another will be refilled by the end of this week. Imagine that purchasing, equipment maintenance, and manpower budget it takes to do this!

Dat'll work too, but I think there's a tetch more earl in the MW.

It's "dino" right? not synth? Trust me, it's WAY WAY WAY more older than 20 years!

Not that I'm trying to start a war but why not regular mayonnaise?????

Maybe run it through the blender with a half a jar of "Miracle Whip" and you should be good to go.

Number 7 appears to be a cultivator cutter or tooth??? Dad had some implements for his old 77? Sears ST16 and the cultivator had cutters like that on it. That was a fine old tractor and he sold it to a family member about 5 years ago with all equipment and they love it. Those other parts do appear to be parts for the lift for the clevis hitch. I have one on my 87 414-8 but can't say for certain it is for it. They are good parts to have around.

Back in 1968, I was pulling parts at a pick-a-part car junk yard. I found a well-used, 3/8" Snap-on ratchet wrench on the floor of a 1962 Chevy II. I still have it and it still works great. However, for an old retired wrencher like me, the price of Snap-on is way too high. I still like Craftsman. I recently took two old Craftsman wrenches with broken ratchet switches to my local Lowes where they were replaced with no questions asked. That being said, for reasonably priced tools I still like Craftsman.

Pretty simple trick really. Use a Sharpie to color the valve seat and the mating surface on the valve. Let it dry a few seconds. Apply your lapping compound and lap the valve. Wipe the compound off with a dry rag. Any imperfections will be very visible. This method works even better when cutting the seat. Cut the first lower angle, cut the upper angle, color with the Sharpie, cut the center angle. Now you will have defined lines to measure the width of your center angle to make sure it is with in specs.

Taint the temperature - 'tis the wind. Some of the nicest days I can recall being outside were between -10 and +10 with no wind. Absolutely clear, sunshine, and the sky was a most amazing shade of blue. Of course, wearing the proper cold weather gear goes a long way to make days like that enjoyable....

Sorry for all the pics. The Bronco just hasn't had much playtime for a while. That's gonna change when it takes over gravel driveway duty this spring.

Getting the little guy ready for the real set.

All winter long I haven’t had a good enough storm to use the blower on. Decided I’d mulch up some snow banks for the fun of it however😅

Had to get a pic in the snow. We don't get it often here so...

We have 9 nieces and nephews now. This weekend, another first tractor ride. My 4 month old nephew has been sleeping for an hour and a half in the sleigh all bundles up. Now, he’s sitting stationary listening to that Magnum 10 purr!